American Airlines has retracted a previous court filing that appeared to hold an underage girl responsible for being covertly filmed by a former flight attendant, acknowledging the statement as an “error.”
American Airlines thinks a 9-year-old girl is to blame when one of their employees does this: pic.twitter.com/a6wmR8xtL1
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 21, 2024
The airline, currently facing legal action over allegations of a flight attendant recording underage girls in airplane restrooms, initially argued in a recent court filing that one of the young girls should have been aware of the recording device in the toilet area.
Following widespread condemnation and public outcry, American Airlines issued a statement, clarifying the position and disavowing the previous defense statement.
NEW: American Airlines is blaming a 9-year-old girl for being filmed by one of their flight attendants in the plane's bathroom.
Estes Carter Thompson is accused of recording multiple girls by taping his phone to plane toilet seats.
In a new court filing, American Airlines… pic.twitter.com/WOO79AZ8jC
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 21, 2024
In their revised statement, the airline stated, “Our outside legal counsel retained with our insurance company made an error in this filing. The included defense is not representative of our airline, and we have directed that it be amended this morning.”
“We do not believe this child is at fault, and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously,” American Airlines emphasized. “Our core mission is to care for people, and the foundation of that is the safety and security of our customers and team.”
The lawsuits against American Airlines stemmed from the arrest of a former flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson III, accused of recording a 14-year-old girl in an airplane restroom during a Boston-bound flight. Thompson also faces allegations of possessing videos of four other underage female passengers, including a nine-year-old.
In response to the family’s lawsuit, American Airlines faced scrutiny over the initial defense that suggested the underage passengers were at fault for the filming incident.
Attorney Paul Llewellyn, representing the family, criticized American Airlines’ initial stance, questioning their commitment to passenger safety and care.
Thompson, the former flight attendant, entered a not guilty plea during a recent hearing in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. He faces federal charges related to the incident and is scheduled to appear in court again on July 1st.
